Snakes and other reasons to STAY FAT!

I am kidding... no one wants to BE FAT or STAY FAT unless they have serious issues. I have serious issues, but none quite THAT bad!
So... it has been a while since I have written... I hit the wall everyone kept telling me about. I have lost a little over 20 pounds (23 actually). I have NOT GAINED, but I have not lost anymore in the past month!
I did not stop working out all together, but I fell off the fast track, that's for certain. Let me just share my "serious issue" I faced recently..
A few weeks ago, my great friend, whom I love with all of my heart, Ginger Todd Gorman and I decided to use those blasted bicycles that Ben and I purchased a few years ago. We decided that it is a shame to let two awesome Treks like that sit in the garage. So Ginger and I dusted off the seats, geared up and headed out for a beautiful bike ride through my neighborhood, Ashbrooke. Now... there is a wooded area with a trail in the back portion of my neighborhood and since these Treks are mountain bikes, I had a FANTASTIC idea... LET'S RIDE OFF ROAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ginger says, "Brandi, I don't think that is a good idea.... we might see a snake!"
I said, "Oh... give it a rest Ginger... we are NOT going to see a snake, plus we will have to bike harder and burn more calories!"
So... I turned off the paved road and headed onto the trail! I felt so good about myself. I just knew I was going to feel all "OFF ROAD FITNESS WOMAN"!!! As soon as I got on the trail, I ran over several ruts and a very, very large stick. Then I saw that there is a large tree down over the path and I could not go any further. Ginger was still near the road, so I turned around and told her it wasn't a good idea after all. Just as I did that, I discovered that the VERY large stick that I ran over was a WATER MOCCASIN! The damn thing was HISSING AT ME! I mean... really? Are you kidding me??? IT WAS A FREAKIN SNAKE! I was wearing my heart rate monitor and I really did look down at it to see that my heart rate increased from 135 to 187! Yeah... scare the hell out of me and I burn calories... whoo hoo! HERE WE GO DIET!
So now I am in the woods, I can't get past the tree, I yelled some sort of profanity that I am certain scared the small children in the neighborhood park and Ginger is screaming at me asking what I am going to do! Let me pause here and say this.... Ginger Gorman is one of the SMARTEST friends I have ever had in my entire life. I am serious... she really is... We go WAY BACK!!!! She is full of book smarts and common sense that most people would kill for... but on this afternoon, Ginger has a solution to our problem and I began questioning her for the first time in our 11 year freindship....
She says, "Brandi... I have an idea... just stay there and I will go to your house and get a hoe and we will kill it!" Ha ha ha ha ha ha.... DO I LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO OWNS A HOE? I mean... what would I do with farm equipment? I don't plant things. Just ask my husband about the flowers in pots outside. They look like plants from a horror film. I am waiting for the homeowners' association to leave some rude note on our door.... Anyway...
I decided to pick the bike up, run with it through the woods, around the fallen tree and I came out on the other side of the neighborhood! All I could think of was that there were going to be more snakes. Then I got back on the sucker and peddled as fast as I could until I came out at Lake Caroline. When I finally made it back to Ginger, I had burned 400 calories! Now I don't know if this was God teaching me a lesson for slacking or what, but the calories were burned that day...

Since this time... I have seen TWO OTHER large snakes. My neighbor killed one in his yard two doors down (he lives on the lake). On Friday, I was leaving from work and a smaller snake wiggled its behind out of my garage! NOW I AM SCARED!

Ginger also killed a snake in HER CLOSET! I understand that she beat the damn thing with a high heel shoe. I suppose GINGER DOESN'T OWN A HOE EITHER!!!!!!!!!!

God help me...

I am back on track though and I hope the blog will be updated more often than it has been! I am doing just fine with the dieting part, but I need to get back on my exercise program full force! I still hold to it that Dr. Pepper is legalized crack. Whenever we go out, I make myself decide between alcohol and Dr. Pepper and most of the time... Dr. Pepper wins! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME....? I can see the headline now... "Overweight Catholic girl turns down red wine for Dr. Pepper".

I hope everyone is doing well and still on track with their weightloss journey. Please DON'T GIVE UP ON ME! I am still down TWO SIZES! I can see my feet again and I feel a thousand times better!

BRICKED WALLS and FRUSTRATIONS

Well.... My sweet friends have been writing me asking what's going on with the weight loss! Kellye Franks wrote to me and said, "Your blog called and she misses you....!" ha ha ha! That was cute!

So.... I have hit the BRICKED WALL everyone talks about and let me tell you... IT IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am actually feeling a little angry!

I lost the first 20 pounds and then THINGS SLOWED DOWN! This morning I weighed and I am actually 203.5, which means I am a pounds and a half heavier than I was the last time I wrote! I am no longer 20 pounds down. I am 18.5!!!! YIKES! I know people will say, "Just hang in there... that could be water weight..." yada yada yada.... but THIS STINKS!

The ONE GOOD THING I CAN SAY IS THIS.... I have gone from a size 20 to a size 16!!!! I am still wearing some of my size 18 pants, but they are baggy. I wore some to work yesterday and my coworkers all said they were hanging off of my rear! I refuse to buy new clothes until I get a little more weight off. My jeans are so big that I can actually fold them down twice on my waist. This is a good thing... I know... but I still want to lose more and being the same weight for two weeks now is frustrating!

I need to change up my workouts. That is what some of my friends are telling me. I probably need to just pay up for training sessions. I just want to do things that I LIKE TO DO... being stuck in the gym is not so much fun for me.

Ben is doing GREAT. He is down 30 pounds... Once again... I love love love him, but he can drink PITCHERS of beer, make sure he gets in a good run... and he has NO PROBLEM!!!!

The running thing... as I said before I HATE IT! I still do. It is getting a little easier, I will say that, but it is still not my favorite thing to do. Someone please tell me that I will eventually fall in love with running so I can be cool like my friends and run 5ks and 10ks and THE NY MARATHON WITH AMANDA CASSELL! yeah... RIGHT! Like THAT'S ever gonna happen! I think Amanda lost me last year when she completed the IRON MAN! WHOO HOO! I will cheer you on from the sideline, sista... NOT GOING TO SEE ME jumping into the Gulf of Mexico with a bunch of sharks and crazy athletes! ha ha ha! Amanda is MUCH stronger physically and mentally than I will ever strive to be! God bless her....

Now... I am going on vacation in the morning! I am going to Gatlinburg with Ben, his grandparents and his mom. On Friday, his mother and I are going to the Biltmore Estate and I will just let EVERYONE KNOW RIGHT NOW... I am going to enjoy that winery! YES... Brandi and some red wine will become one on Friday! If anyone has a suggestion on how to quickly lose the weight you may gain from a bottle of wine, please let me know. I am open to suggestions; however, if anyone tells me "DON'T DO IT".... I will cry like a little girl and question our friendship! ha ha ha....

So this is my update... I am not AS FAT as I was on January 10th... two months into this I am down 18.5 pounds... but I am STILL FAT! At this moment I do not feel that I am on a roll to lose these rolls, but that the rolls are on a roll to rule me! HELP!

I hope all is well! I WILL CONTINUE with this journey. I AM NOT giving up, but this is FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is hard and frustrating! I have not taken ONE SINGLE diet pill during this entire journey... THAT...I am MOST proud of because let me tell you... it would be so easy to just grab some of that stuff off of the shelf and move things along a little, but I wonder if I will KEEP IT off and have an ongoing healthy lifestyle in the end. I want to be thin and healthy and enjoy my life, not continue on a weight struggle rollercoaster.

I hope all is well with you all! I love you all and thank you so much for reading this and keeping me pumped up. I feel like I can't quit because people know I am doing this and ask me WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING... you haven't written in a while! This helps me OH SO MUCH! So Kellye Franks... the blog did call and HERE SHE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST BIG MARK.... 20 POUNDS LOST!!!!!!!

YAY! It is Sunday and I just had my weigh in this morning. I have LOST 20 POUNDS!!!!!!! Do I get to eat cake now or what....? Uh.... NO!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh... I can not believe how wonderful this feels. I am so excited!

I have been taking it easy this weekend. I did a SHORT workout yesterday and I will do some tonight, but I must say... this is really paying off! I feel so much better and look forward to reporting my progress later in the week too! I think it is time to step up the working out a little.

YAY! All I can say.... YIPPPEEEEEEEEEE!

17.6 POUNDS and PROGRESS PHOTOS

I HAVE LOST 17.6 POUNDS!!!!!! Things are rolling right along and I could NOT be happier!

This first photo is a picture of my friend, Cindy, and me at the party I told you about on Tuesday, January 27th (the one where I had to leave before they cut the cake... oh how I still wouldn't mind having some birthday cake...). I am already seeing some differences in my body since this photo was taken just a little less than a month ago!

This is a photo taken of Ben and me on Friday night, February 20th! I was down about 16 pounds and he is down 25 pounds! WOOOOO HOOOO! I am starting to see some weight loss in
my face. I am just so happy and excited. I hope it will continue to come off and I will continue to be able to fit into some of the nicer clothes I have. I have not been able to wear this black jacket at all this season because I had gained so much weight in my arms. The jacket was literally cutting off the circulation in my arms when I tried it on in December! This is SO EXCITING for me. I think Ben looks great too. I am noticing some big changes in him. His face is much smaller and I think overall, he just feels great! I am very proud of him.

The exercise is actually becoming a lot more enjoyable than it use to be. I think I am actually becoming healthier! I feel so much better. One thing that I want to mention about my health is something that might seem a little silly or weird. Last summer I started to have heart burn A LOT! I had never really had it before, but by Christmas time, it was getting pretty bad! It was so horrible, that it would actually keep me up at night. I am noticing now that I hardly ever have it at all. I don't know if there is any correlation with weight loss and minimizing heart burn, but either way... IT IS MUCH BETTER! I am sure it has something to do with the fact that I am not eating as badly as I use to (although i did have PANCAKES this morning and they were GREAT! ~ I burned them off today, though)!

I just wanted to post these pictured because I feel that there is some difference from just a month ago! It isn't by any means a HUGE difference, but I certainly feel better

Thanks again to everyone who reads this blog and comments. It has been so helpful to me to keep me going!

RUNNING AND MY 16.5 POUND WEIGHT LOSS!

I want to begin this blog today by letting everyone know that this morning I weighed in at 205.9 pounds! I was 222.4 when I started on January 10th, so I have officially lost 16.5 pounds! THIS IS SUCH A BIG DEAL FOR ME!

TODAY I am wearing a really cute jacket to work that I have not been able to fit in to all winter long because my arms were too big and I couldn't button it because my chest was too big... well... NOW IT FITS and I CAN BUTTON IT! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS TIME the running is going MUCH BETTER than last time! OH... I am not even far along, but I think I am figuring out a few things! Everyone's input has been MOST HELPFUL! So thanks to all of you!

Let me just tell you about my "Running Adventures" so far....

I arrived home on Monday and Ben had on his new kicks I told you about. THE SHOES looked GOOD too I must admit.... Nice choice! So... I got all geared up for the run with those running shoes that Amanda helped me pick out two years ago... (They still look new and cute by the way as they were not FULLY BROKEN IN from the Hal Higdon era.... HA!) .... YUCK... the Hal Higdon era is not something I need to be thinking about to get me motivated. (see post Running... what am I thinking)

Ben and I did our stretching INSIDE of our house... this was probably a very good idea so that I did not bend over and frighten the neighbors for the homeowner's association MIGHT have left me a letter of complaint if I had done so.... Then every SINGLE time I bend over I am reminded of the "Sexy dance that was NOT so sexy". I just don't know how I will recover if I split the bottom of my pants in public...

ANYWAY....

After stretching, Ben suggested that I just leave my MP3 player at home because I will not need it. "We are going to do this TOGETHER and we can talk", he says.... LESSON #1.... MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE IPOD or the MP3 PLAYER! THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT! I was a little pushy about taking it, but when I got outside THE DARN THING WAS DEAD!

So... off we went from our driveway for our ONE MINUTE RUN... and it was pretty cold on Monday! I was breathing in the cool air, but I felt great. Ben was responsible for keeping track of the 1 minute and 2 minute sessions, so I tried to relax and rely on him... I was to follow his lead... NO PROBLEM, I thought....

Next came the 2 minute walk and I still felt alright... we were talking and looked down to notice that my heart rate monitor said that I was at 140! Now at 135, I burn fat... 140 is still a good range and at this point I am OH SO PROUD!

The two minutes ended and Ben tells me that it is time to run again! I said with excitement, "OKAY! YAY! Let's do this!" Suddenly I am feeling it... and not in a good way.... The cold air is setting in JUST ON THE SECOND set.... as Ben is running... he is going MUCH faster than me... How can this be... I am really trying to play the cool person here and keep up with him....

THANK GOODNESS THE ONE MINUTE ENDS SOON ENOUGH! I am once again happy that the 2 minute walk is in session....

Ben had to slow down to allow me to catch up.... I was trying VERY HARD not to let him notice that my breathing was out of control, I had sweat running down my face already in the 40 degree weather and I don't feel so good anymore....

BEFORE I KNEW IT... That HUSBAND OF MINE says... "TIME TO RUN AGAIN..." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ARE YOU SURE? CAN'T BE! OH...... CRAP! I ran as fast and as hard as I could to catch up with him. It was quite apparent that his stride was much larger than mine. I had to basically run for three steps to match his one! I mean... I realize that I am short... but COME ON!!!!! LESSON #2... RUN AT YOUR OWN PACE UNTIL YOU HAVE ENDURANCE TO KEEP UP WITH SOMEONE ELSE! By the 45 second mark... my heart rate was at 178 and I thought I was going to throw up!

So... I want to admit RIGHT now... THIS WAS NOT A GOOD RUNNING EXPERIENCE for me... I finally conviced Ben to run on without me and I explained that I would catch up... he finished all of his sets and eventually had to turn around and walk a long way to meet back up with me! I did at least finish the WALKING portions to complete the 30 minute exercise, but it was the WORST 30 minutes I have had in a LONG TIME! NOT FUN... and with no music to distract me... I was a little upset, discouraged and ANGRY by the time I reached our house again! At the end of this, I saw that I burned 350 calories and although that is less than I would usually burn in a work out, I decided that I WAS FINISHED! F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D!!!!!!!!

HOWEVER......... on Wednesday... I WAS RUNNING AGAIN! Yeah... remember how I am on a roll to lose these rolls because that is how I roll.... YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS TIME I TOOK THAT MP3 PLAYER and WENT BY MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!! Several of my friends wrote in to my last blog about running and I took all of their advice. I had that MP3 player with some good music, I REALXED more when I ran and I RAN AT MY OWN PACE, which was SOOOOO MUCH SLOWER THAN BEN! You know what else?????? I finished EVERY SINGLE SET and it felt GREAT when I was done! Also........ at the end of that run, I burned 450 calories!

Ben and I walked the dogs yesterday for 30 minutes and today is back to running! I hope this works out! I am getting excited!

I am super excited about the weight loss and if I keep dropping the weight, I will keep it up!

Hope all of you are well and doing well with your exercising too!

Just for a laugh....

So any of you who know me well, know that I can do some silly things and not think twice about them. I ran across this picture again recently and thought it was PERFECT for this blog! Last fall, my friends (Amanda and Rachel) and I got together for a girls' night out! We went shopping, bowling and out to eat! We had a great time. While we were shopping at Renaissance mall in Ridgeland, Rachel saw this poster in the window of Ann Taylor. She loved the swimsuit and just had to have it. When she purchased it, I took it from her and wanted to know how she and Amanda thought I WOULD LOOK in it. We know Rachel's figure is perfect for this bikini.

So... my thought is... I CAN GIVE THIS MODEL A RUN FOR HER MONEY ANYTIME! ha ha ha.... NOT! I hope Rachel will let me borrow this if I become thin enough to actually wear it! YAY! I was probably around 222 -225 pounds when this was taken!



Enjoy the photo... It makes Amanda and me crack up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Running... WHAT AM I THINKING?

Okay... it is Monday, February 16th and I AM BACK ON TRACK WITH EVERYTHING... working out, eating well... watching calories and FOCUSING, FOCUSING, FOCUSING!!!!! I feel SO MUCH better than I did this time last week. I can pretty much eat anything I want without pain. Well.... I CAN'T EAT ANYTHING I want... but the throat is better.

I have lost a total of 15 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was just under 207 when I weighed today. I am excited to be back on track and on board with the working out again... so here is what is NEW with the workout status.

My husband, Ben... he is so wonderful! He really is. I am LUCKY to have a husband who is so supportive about my weight loss without being too critical of me. He loves me and supports me. I mentioned in my last blog that he lost 20 pounds. He is still rocking and rolling and I am very proud of him. Ben decided that he wants to start a running program. This has been in his mind for quite some time now. He ordered what he hopes will be the "perfect" running shoes and they should be delivered to our home today! He sent me an email this morning and INVITED ME TO COME ALONG TO START THIS PROGRAM with him. He sent me a link for Runner's world and shared the program with me.

I reviewed it. I am excited about this, especially since it is something that he and I can do together, but I had to think back to 2007 when I thought I was going to lose weight by running. I had a blog then on my Myspace page and I kept a journal too. I just read it and thought I would share a little from that blog. I sat here at my desk and laughed out loud about my experience then. I am SERIOUSLY wondering if I will be able to do this!

When I started this blog last month, I promised to BE HONEST and PUT IT ALL OUT THERE... so if I hate this... YOU ALL WILL KNOW ABOUT IT and if I hate to the point that I want to kill myself... I will stop. Everyone can call me a failure... I don't care! ha ha ha.... Even when I was a dancer in High School and College, running just wasn't my thing. Nevertheless, I am going to give this a shot and hope that I can become one of those great runners with the pretty legs and limited health issues... we shall see....

So... THIS IS FUNNY! FLASHBACK....

One of the best friends I have ever had in my life is Amanda Caperton Cassell. Amanda is an amazing person. She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. We became friends at Mississippi State and have been through so much together. Amanda is a dietician and has ALWAYS been one to work out, eat right and take care of her body. She knew me at State when I was 118 pounds. We worked out together at the Sanderson Center and then sometimes ate pizza afterwards without thinking twice! (OH... the days).

So, back in July of 2007, I was looking for a fitness program and thought I would try running. Amanda runs. She runs 5Ks and 10Ks and marathons... THE BOSTON MARATHON.... then Amanda got into triathalons... Lord have mercy... skinny britches even did the IRON MAN last fall! Yeah.... (Don't EVER expect this of Brandi Kennedy Garrett)!

So below are pieces of my blog and my journal about losing weight...

July 13, 2007
I spoke with Amanda yesterday and she said, "Brandi, I love ya, but you need some GOALS! You need something to work up to and maybe running would be good for you. I know for certain that if you are successful with a running program, the weight will fall right off!" So...... this is when Amanda suggests to me that I should check out a website for Hal Higdon, who has running programs. I viewed it and was VERY EXCITED... it suggested a run, walk, run, walk program and I felt certain that I would be able to keep up with this! July 13th was a great day. I woke up on July 14th and looked forward to my run...

July 14, 2007
I started running this evening.... Oh my... that was tough... My feet are hurting. I think I may need some new shoes. These New Balances are just not for running and my arches hurt. I am going tomorrow to get some RUNNING shoes. I think I need to focus more on comfort than how they look. Amanda said she would go with me to pick some out! She is such a good friend.

July 15, 2007
Running is NOT as much fun as I built up in my mind. Amanda went with me and I got the running shoes. I got them on sale too for 60 bucks! Not so bad! My feet are fine, but my sides are hurting and the breathing thing is terrible. I am running at night because it is cooler, but the humidity is pretty tough. This makes it difficult to breathe through my nose. I don't even know how I am suppose to breathe. I need to remind myself later to Google that. ( I google everything)

July 16, 2007
What in the hell am I thinking? I hate this running business. I am trying to keep it up and follow this Hal Higdon guy's program. I KNOW it is a good program. The man is successful and he has helped lots of people! I also feel that if Amanda feels strongly about his program it must work... it has to work! I am going to keep at this. Motto... BRANDI WON'T GIVE UP!

July 17, 2007
(Below is what I wrote on July 17th, 2007......)
I gave running a shot again tonight.... my sides hurt so badly and I want Krispy Kreme to the point that I would rob a homeless man to get one eclair right now, but I decided to go out and try it again tonight.
I am not so sure about this Hal Higdon.... Hal's plan of "Preparing to run your first 5K" DOESN'T APPLY TO ME! He should have one that says, "How Brandi's fat ass can survive walkin .08 miles". Now THAT is a plan I could see paying for! I am going to die. I am REALLY going to die. This is hell. This is not fun. It was drizzling outside, humid, there is mud all over the street from new construction, and I am fat, dammit. I am really fat! FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT!! 210 pounds of lard trying to make it around the block! I think that all of the new homes in my neighborhood have foundation problems now because the earth was a shakin'! Picture this... It was so dark outside... When I made it back to my street all I could see were two big bright lights. At first I thought it was Jesus coming to get me, but it turns out that it was just the porch lights that Ben turned on for me. I actually cried when I reached my drive way. I am not sure if it was tears of disgust because I am so ashamed that I am sooooo out of shape or if it was tears of joy to know that I now had a beautiful whirlpool tub waiting for me inside and I didn't have to run anymore.

Well, I will be at it again tomorrow, I suppose. And as far as the Krispy Kreme, I guess I can control myself.

Wish me luck!

July 18th, 2009
I think I am going to accept this weight thing for now. I am in too much pain... I hate running... I need to find something else! My name is Brandi and I am NOT a runner. I HATE RUNNING!

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SO..... Let's see how we do THIS time.... I am NOT getting my hopes up, but we will see. Ben just might make all of the difference in the world!

I will update everyone later to let you know how this goes. If any of you are runners or have ever been a runner or look to become one in the future, PLEASE COMMENT! I would love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time....